52 ANCESTORS 52 WEEKS - BRICK WALL

My brick wall, or research that has come to a halt is headed by John Murphy born about 1853 in Ireland and his wife, Honora Quinlan born about 1852 in Ireland.

They both came from Ireland in the late 1860’s or early 1870’s.  Murphy is one of the most common names in Ireland so to find a John Murphy without a townland, is impossible.  I don’t even have a county in Ireland.  The Quinlan family name is not that common and Honora isn’t as common as Mary but pretty common.  

The only documents I have found about John Murphy is a directory listing, one census, and the birth of his children.  None of them have any mention of where in Ireland he came from.

I have found several documents for Honora Quinlan but only after she is married, her children’s birth records which mention her maiden name, census records and a probate record for her sister.

John Murphy died in 1891 in Brooklyn, NY, so he was only in one census, the 1880, before he died.  If he was in the 1870 census before his first daughter was born, I haven’t found it.  So, I have figured he came to New York between 1870 and 1873 when his daughter was born. It still is impossible to find him in Ireland without a County or town.

The probate record I found with Honora mentioned also indicates a brother Alexander.  I thought maybe I would have some luck with an uncommon first name of Alexander and Quinlan.  Everything I found for him never mentioned where in Ireland he came from.

I do not have the parents or siblings for John Murphy.  I do have Honora Quinlan’s, Mother Mary and Father Michael.  The mother lived with Honora and was widowed.  In the Directory it lists Mary as wife of deceased Michael.  Honora had four siblings, Jane, Margaret, Michael and Alexander.

I have looked at ship passenger lists and have not found the Quinlan family.

This is my brick wall and I hope some day to break it down.

 52 ANCESTORS 51 WEEKS - BALD

Hereditary hair loss is the most common cause of baldness.

In my family on my father’s side baldness is very common.  It occurs mostly with boys who have curly hair when young.  

I know for sure that my grandfather, William Joseph Mathews, was bald in his 20’s.  The only photo I have of my great grandfather, William John Mathews, he has a hat on so not sure if he was bald.  My father, James Mathews and his brothers, Thomas and William James Mathews all were bald in their 20’s.  

My brothers, Kevin and James Mathews  lost their hair early and even my half brothers, Michael and John Mathews, lost their hair in their 20’s.

My one son, Michael who had very curly hair was told when he was very young to enjoy his hair while he could because he would lose it early.  So in the 70’s the Afro hair style was very popular, he had no trouble getting that style. My father thought it was terrible but we told him “you know he is going to lose it all in a few years let him enjoy it”.  My other son, James took after my husband’s side of the family and didn’t have curly hair and still has hair in his 50’s.

My sister, Pat’s boys, Chris, Kevin and Bob also have lost their hair early.

Unfortunately, my mother’s side also had the same problem.  I don’t have early photos of many of the ancestors.  My grandfather, John N. Moore and his son, John N. Moore Jr. both were bald early.  

Luckily none of the women had a hair loss problem.

 52 ANCESTORS 52 WEEKS - PETS

I haven’t found any ancestors with pets, they lived in apartments and probably didn’t have room for pets.

When we got married we got our first dog.  I hadn’t grown up with dogs but my husband always had a dog.  We got an Irish Setter (because we are both of Irish decent).  We named her Kelly.  Well this dog was hyper active from the beginning.  We found out after that it was a trait of Irish Setters.

We had no idea about training dogs, so she had free rein of the house.  Many accidents happened, but she didn’t chew things.  She would take off out the door if it was left open even an inch.  We would chase her down the street with the car and she I would jump right in to go home.

Three months after we got Kelly, our first son was born.  What a noisy, busy house it became.  The dog and baby became very good friends.  After many years and 2 more children, Kelly finally settled down and was the most perfect dog.  She would lie out on the front lawn without being tied to anything and just watch the kids play and never went off the property.

We had another dog after Kelly and several Grand dogs.